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CARTA picks up speed with new bus routes, plans
By Dennis Quick
Senior Staff Writer
The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority is making a comeback after more than 1 1/2 years of operating at 25% capacity due to budget cuts.
On June 27, CARTA, bolstered by
$6.5 million from the 2004 passage of the half-cent sales tax hike, increased its bus routes from seven to 17, increased its number of operational buses from 9 to 29, which CARTA already owned, and restored previously cut services. Additionally, CARTA installed new bus stop signs, offered new user-friendly maps in Spanish as well as English and launched a new marketing and advertising campaign to get traditional riders to re-board the buses.
CARTA began planning these changes in January. The changes comprise the first phase of CARTA’s rebirth. The second phase will begin Jan. 1, 2006. By that time, CARTA, which will get an additional $9 million of half-cent sales tax funding, will have 17 new, smaller buses designed to serve neighborhoods rather than the region. Commuters can board these express buses from park-and-ride stations. Service will extend to the Charleston International Airport, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island and other high-traffic areas.
“We want to let people know that we’re back,” says Howard Chapman, CARTA’s executive director. “Our goal is to return to the operating level we had in 2002.”
Sliding numbers
During 2002, CARTA had 21 bus routes and more than 4 million riders, according to Chapman.
But then the state Supreme Court overturned passage of the 2002 half-cent sales tax referendum, which would have funded public transportation, road improvement and the creation of parks and green spaces because of biased language on the ballot. CARTA, whose funding was heavily dependent upon the referendum, suffered a 75% cut in services.
Service to James Island and Mount Pleasant was eliminated, as were evening and weekend services, and fares were raised from $1 to $1.25. In 2004, the number of CARTA bus routes dropped to seven, and the number of riders plummeted to 1.2 million, says Chapman.
Although the budget cuts harmed CARTA, they proved a “nightmare” for CARTA’s customers, Chapman says. The transit authority’s limited bus service caused some workers, particularly those in the hospitality industry, to lose their jobs because they could not get to the hotels and restaurants where they worked, he says.
However, the passage of the 2004 half-cent tax referendum beefed up CARTA’s operating budget.
Services re-instated
Buses now run more frequently along routes in areas with large population densities and large numbers of workers dependent on mass transit, Chapman claims. More routes serve peninsular Charleston, including the length of the Battery and waterfront areas. On James Island, restored service runs along Folly Road, and in West Ashley as far as the Citadel Mall and Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital. New north-area routes run as far as Trident Hospital and Charleston Southern University. Buses run in Mount Pleasant down U.S. Highway 17 to Towne Centre.
Bus fare remains $1.25, with discounts for those with bus passes.
Chapman says that as the Lowcountry’s population grows and commercial and residential development spreads, so too will CARTA’s service. He thinks the region’s growth and the ensuing traffic will attract more white-collar riders to CARTA.
“Rising oil prices and the increasing expense of maintaining a car will drive our ridership,” Chapman says.
Dennis Quick is the senior staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dquick@crbj.com.
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